


The First Cycle: Volume One (Reboot)

by BCCHP7



Series: The Cycles Project [1]
Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Inconsistent usage of Macrons, M-OC Main Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29130750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BCCHP7/pseuds/BCCHP7
Summary: Tags will only be used if it's important; when said tag appears in the story.In the Summer of the year 2003, Gensōkyō would experience its first large-scale incident in quite a while; As well as welcome an unexpected guest who knows he shouldn’t be there, but neither does he know where he should be. No longer will he continue to wander through countless plains splashed in grey, looking for a purpose to replace one he can’t even remember leaving behind; Instead, this world shall welcome him with open arms and open maws.His stumbling through the boundary would merely be a prelude of the many trials to come…Important OC Names (as they appear):Main Character- Matthius Oreion.Additional Context:This was rebooted from a work I had posted of fanfiction.net.I am new to AO3's system, but not the site itself; so hopefully the transition goes as smoothly as I could hope for.
Series: The Cycles Project [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137578
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue: Starting Off in the Wrong Body

**Notice:**   
_ Italics places an emphasis on words, in full context it can display sarcasm or if used for an entire dialogue piece implies that the words were thought and not spoken. In the case where I have to emphasise a word that is thought I will do ^this^; though I’ll avoid doing so because it doesn’t read naturally.  
_ **Bolding places power on words, it may be used to announce things like Spells or Moves or what other Sentai shit ya weebs and chunis like to do (un)ironically in dialogue, it means that the spoken word is projected and of greater aural output than any other unbolded word.  
** Underlined words are words spoken with greater dynamics but otherwise may be used for literally anything at this point.  
{Translation for when I do write a few lines in some random language other than english.}   
{{The POV doesn’t understand the spoken words.}}  
{☆This is an observer’s text.} {☆“This would be their dialogue.”}  
{☆☆This would be a whisper of a [Reviewer], in case any of you wanted to get something into the actual story for fun or for the purpose of making the OMC suffer.}   
{☆☆☆This would be  _ my _ (the Creator’s) text, for when I feel like calling myself out for lazy story-writing or for something that was worded a little wrongly.}   
[/OS Display/]   
[\Transmitted Information (such as text)\\] [\“Now this would be like a phone call or something.”\\]  
((This is the author’s note type stuff I will place around the chapter))  


* * *

**Chapter Status:** Unedited, undergoing experimental processes.

* * *

**Prologue: Awakening to Nothing**   


**☆☆☆** **  
[?’s Perspective]  
** **☆☆☆** **  
  
**

When I came to, the first thing I thought was;

_ “Not again…” _

Every other thought that followed that one was simply a large mix of conflicting emotions ranging from satisfaction, to confusion, and even melancholy. But there was a single thought that was considered too important to leave for later;

_ “Who am I?” _

_ No _ … that’s wrong… I know  _ who _ I am, I’m ‘Matthius Oreion’. That much, and  _ only _ that much, could I say about myself–nothing else. What I  _ don’t _ know is;

_ “ _ **_Why_ ** _ am I?” _

From the moment I was left to slumber to the moment I grew ‘conscious’ I had merely been wandering the emptiness of the  **void** . Without any sort of form or sense of self, I would travel down different… shapes… slopes…  _ geometries _ … across several planes. Conscious enough to recognise what was around me vaguely; But not conscious enough to  _ perceive _ them. This place was simply… I was here, and everything else was here at some point, and will always return to here in the end. 

There were other ‘consciousnesses’ around me as far as I could see. 

We would meet once, divulge whatever we knew about ourselves and perhaps any memories we  _ did _ have on us, and then we’d simply move on; alternate paths.

Then there were the ones besides you, they were so  _ similar _ to you, perhaps these ones were…  _ also _ me. No matter how hard I tried, though, I could never reach them, and they, me; like parallel lines.

It was a sad existence, but this was where he was resigned to be. One could almost call it border, a  _ boundary _ , or even a  **_gap_ ** between what exists and what doesn’t. I wasn’t lost; being lost implies that you were straying from a predestined path. I was, however, stagnant… stagnant beyond all reasoning and question. Neither living or dying, nor was I static or variable.

I couldn’t even pass the time by sleeping like any living creature because I’m not even sure if the ‘What’ I am would even be able to initiate any form of rest other than the complete lack of being that I already am.

_ “I just want to experience something. I want to be able to  _ **_dream_ ** _.” _

Dreams were… complicated. REM sleep was something only achievable by sapient beings, and the icon of all sapient species were the Humans; in particular, Homo sapiens sapiens. Who were  _ so _ wise, they had to list it twice.

Something tugged at the back of my ‘conscious’ whenever I thought about humans. Was  _ I _ human too?

He had a good idea about the importance of humans to this omniverse. There were,  _ incredibly _ , important; so much so that there was an entire mostly undiscovered archverse inside  **Reality** that was entirely inhabited by only humans as the dominant high-order sapient life.

In particular, it was because a  _ large _ majority of these universes were born from a single universe. Because humans have the ability to create and destroy worlds through something he was aware of called  **_narrative_ ** ; yet these humans, able to create creatures that could  _ destroy _ omniverse-equivalent archverses, would never be able to interact with their own creations.

This was something I also thought was sad. Imagine you had the ability to  _ write _ about a world that was exactly like yours, where every single mistake and calamity was simply erased and replaced with something more sweet and peaceful, to be able to turn your own broken family into a happy one, but knowing  _ you _ would never be able to…  _ live _ in the perfect world you’ve created.

I was aware that there were some ways to work around this; Avatars, and something else entirely, referred to as an ‘SI’. I noticed that some of the ‘consciousnesses’ I met briefly, used them synonymously, whereas others made a distinction.

Supposedly, an ‘Avatar’ was a being created to embody the creator’s  _ will _ ; An instrument to carry out change that could not be achieved any other way within one of these  **_narratives_ ** .

And the ‘SI’, the ‘Self Insert’ was another being created to somehow embody the  _ traits _ ,  _ personality _ and most importantly the  _ desires _ of their creator. Who would live within the worlds their creators had made for them under the illusion that  _ they _ were the creators. That they were somehow able to cross a fundamental barrier meant to keep balance.   
And sometimes, there were just beings who only fulfilled the goals and wishes of their creators without any idea that it was their only purpose.

I was… neither. I had briefly considered that perhaps I was one or the other, but with all the memories that I had gathered, I had made the conclusion that there was no ‘Matthius Oreion’ in this **‘** ** _root universe_** **’**. While there were certainly Matthiuses that _were_ **Creators** , none of them had ever tried to replicate themselves.

So who  _ made _ me? Who  _ wrote _ me?  **Why am I** **_here_ ** **?**

And most importantly… Why was I able to  _ think _ , currently?

Some moments ago, I had collected enough ‘consciousness’ to begin active thought; and I was… able to  _ see _ .

Yes- ‘seeing’ was the only word that could describe what I was doing right now. Despite the complete lack of ocular organs, I was able to ‘see’ some sort of window open in front of me, and-

The world I saw was grey and dull; smoke filled the air choking the lungs of all who breathed, and trash littered the ground polluting the very land.    
Yes, I’ve seen this from the memories of the  _ others _ .

A stagnant but ever advancing society, this was  _ Earth _ .

And despite all its flaws, despite everything  _ we _ had done to it, it was  _ alive _ , and it was  **_beautiful_ ** .

Very much more so than I could say about the  **_void_ ** .

It seems that whatever was happening to me, I was being granted new liberties; knowledge of this world I saw in front of me, and a brief outline of its history.

With nothing else, I had a simple coin-toss in front of me.

If I were to ‘slumber’ once more; Would I wake up? Or would I finally blink out of existence?

The decision was made long before I had thought of the outcomes, as I finally began to slip into a state of ‘unconsciousness’.

* * *

I woke up to an alarm, my entire body jolted into action as I-

Hold on?

“Woke up?  _ Alarm _ ‽” My voice sounded out across the empty apartment. I then blanked out for a second before I realised something else.

I looked down at  _ myself _ to see-

**“Body‽”** . My _body_.

My head—I still can’t believe I’m saying this—was a clash of entire new emotions; of which still included confusion.

Right, first but foremost.

*Shmack* “Ow.”

I punched myself in the face with my arm, and the pain confirmed that I truly possess a physical body now; and not only that, but I had an unmistakably masculine voice with a pitch that lied  _ just _ a little below tenor, but not enough to be bass or baritone–in short, it definitely wasn’t the voice of a kid. 

In my giddiness, I took a sweeping glance around  _ my _ apartment.

And then that giddiness immediately died down.

Because… I didn’t know what  _ any _ of this was.

No- I could identify and  _ define _ what all of these things were—that’s a bed, that’s a computer, that’s a half-eaten sandwich, whatever—but I didn’t know what  _ any _ of these things meant… to  _ me _ . Rather, I have just come to the horrid realisation that… this was  _ not _ my body. I have just hijacked the life of some poor guy that was just living his life… 

And as sad as it is, there’s really nothing I can do about it except live this new  _ life _ to its fullest.

I walked towards the room that was likely the bathroom; taking a look inside, I saw my target, the  _ mirror _ .

I studied myself in the mirror ostensibly. I could see immediately, that my eyes were a shade of amberish bronze surrounded by skin of sandy-brown. My hair was a light brown, but noticeably darker than the tone of my skin. My clothes consisted of a generic green tee, light blue jeans, and red sneakers with white socks. My eyes narrowed as I observed the rest of my body, my muscles were lean, but not overly large, if anything my body fat percentage would be around fifteen percent; not exactly athlete level, but I’m definitely quite fit for someone dressed like an idiot.

I understand, whoever the guy was,  _ died _ in these clothes; flopped down,  _ breathed his last _ . I just can’t imagine anyone sleeping in jeans  _ and while wearing shoes _ . Given that I woke up on the  _ floor _ and  _ not _ on a bed… I suppose the death was probably sudden.

The clothing choice, however, was… you know what? I shouldn’t question it, I’m a presence from the  **void** , not a fashion expert; judging people on their appearance was probably hypocrisy.

In terms of age, I’d estimate that I’m in my early twenties, or at least, the  _ body _ was; A lack of wrinkles with a fairly deep voice and standing at five feet - eleven inches (again, from estimate; but what else did I have to compare myself to?) suggested that at the very least, the body was done with puberty, if not completely done with bone restructuring and development. Thank God for small mercies, I’ve never had ‘the horny’ (a play on the word ‘hormonal’? ((1))) but I sure as hell don’t want to start now.

Yet there was one thing I knew for certain; This body felt  _ right _ . Not like it was  _ mine _ , but like it… was identical to my  _ true _ body. If I had one.

Scratching my head, I pondered out loud to my reflection, “I wonder if I have a job? Most mature humans have one.”.

I left the bathroom and eventually made it through the bleached white room to the door, turning its cold metal handle and pulling it open. I am then greeted with a basic corridor, same white with some recurring and predictable patterns running along the walls. It was quiet, and the bright lights on the ceilings that saturated this hallway did me no favours in trying to tell the time.

_ “Don’t they have clocks around here?” _ . For some reason, the thought of clocks and time brought a shiver down my spine… It was probably nothing.

There were also…  _ tables with potted plants _ ! Just to add a little colour to the otherwise dull scenery. The existence of another life was comforting, with how quiet it was; even if it was something as static as a plant, it boosted my confidence.

Shutting the door closed I found that it’s one of those ‘swipe-card’ systems; the ones that ran off plastic cards and magnetic strips or something like that. It was really strange to suddenly  _ know _ things. If only the American Education System could manage something like this; maybe somewhere down the line they’ll invest in human cybernetics that would allow one to download all the information in the internet as well as have remote access to search engines like Google.

Actually, maybe  _ I’ll _ be the one to do so? The possibilities were endless with this new life of mine. Regardless of the locked door, I was unfazed, as I would no longer disrespect the possessions of a dead man. I made my way down the complex into the lobby where I would have expected a receptionist to be. Nobody’s here, so I take my leave and exit the building, where a street was running busy with vehicles and pedestrians; And of course, it’s Jacksonville Florida. ((2))

_ “This is it! Actual people!” _ I thought excitedly.  _ “To live a normal life as a human means I’ll have to regularly socialise with other humans; So why not start now?” _ .

I immediately went around and tried to capture the attention of anyone who was willing to listen.

“Hey- excuse me-”   
“Can you spare a second sir-”   
“Ma’am I really need to ask you something-”

No matter what I did though, nobody seemed to even hear me; hell, they didn’t even seem to acknowledge that I  _ existed _ . They continued their morning march towards their destinations. That’s right, a destination, something I don’t have. I looked up from my previously downcast gaze and saw one of their faces, or rather I saw their  _ lack of faces _ . I was still for a few seconds, and began to run, somewhere,  _ anywhere _ that wasn’t the reality I was seeing.

**☆☆☆** **  
⏮⏮⏮Line Break⏭⏭⏭  
** **☆☆☆** **  
**

I ended up outside the entrance to some sort of drink establishment; I’d guess a bar, since it wasn’t flashy enough to be a nightclub. It was called ‘The Day’s End’.

_ “What an inspired name.” _

I took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. The bar was surprisingly well kept. It was certainly rustic, with wooden furniture being the main theme; but it wasn’t  _ old _ . At the actual bar was a man who seemed to be going over a diary or some journal. As the sound of the door wasn’t particularly quiet by any sense of the word, the man heard me, and looked  _ at _ me.

Not  _ through _ me,  _ at _ me.

Granted, I still couldn’t see his face for some reason, but it was more…  _ clearer _ ?… than the pedestrians on the street who ignored me earlier.

He stood somewhere around five foot - six inches; shorter than me, for sure. His hair was an uncertain dark shade–most likely black. Other than that, I had nothing.

“Ah! It’s you.” He exclaimed with a…  _ smile _ ? As if those words would help clarify  _ anything _ .

I took a seat on the barstool, noting that I was the bar’s only patron.

“I still owe you a drink for what ye did for me last week don’t I?” The man continued, laying down both palms on the bar.

“Do you? Well thank God. See, I just left my wallet inside my apartment, and then locked myself  _ out _ of said apartment; silly state of affairs. I’m just walking around the city while the staff figure out how the hell I managed to break the door.” I lied through my teeth.

“Are… you alright?”. While I couldn’t exactly see the man’s face, it was clear that his voice housed concern. “You seem a lot more…  _ stressed _ ;  _ sad _ , even.”. There was something wrong with this conversation.

“By my standards, no, I’m not alright.” I answered.

“Huh. Usually your type is the kind to brave it out alone until it’s pretty much too late. Was expecting more of a “Yeah, I’m fine.” answer.”

I crossed my hands together as the elbows of my arms rested on the counter; “Listen, with the way my health seems to be deteriorating, both physically  _ and _ mentally-”.

It was an assumption of ‘his’ medical history, considering the circumstances of ‘his’ death.

“-I can’t exactly turn down  _ any _ help.” I finished. “Now can I please get a glass of water?”.

“Water?”

“Yes… water. I’ve never drunk alcohol, that won’t start today.”

“Well at the very least a small drink might take your mind off of things.”

“Uh, did I not just explain my situation? Y’know? The  _ rapidly declining health _ ?”

“Yes, I know.” The man placated, “But-”.

That’s when I realised it. The man wasn’t looking at  _ me _ , he was looking  _ at my body _ . If that makes sense. Whoever this person  _ was _ , not the person  _ I _ am.

I waved my hand out in frustration; “Just get me the drink.”.

The barkeep stood there for a moment, before doing…  _ something _ .

Before I knew it, a highball glass was placed down in front of me. The contents of the glass were a light red, and there was a lemon slice on the side of the cup.

“That’s… not water.”

“Very astute observation.”

“I asked for water though.” I persisted.

The barkeep had a gloved palm on his face; “Just drink the damn thing already.”.

“You know I’m  _ barely _ old enough for this right? I’m not even the  _ legal _ age.”

_ “The guy treats me like a kid. If not by the words, then by the tone. How old am I really?” _

“Pfft, most you young people always have one by eighteen anyway.”

“This is… wrong on so many levels, I-”. I sighed, “Alright, tell me what’s in this thing before I figure out the hard way.”.

“That’s just an Americano.”

… 

“What? Never heard of one? It’s just made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda.”

“This isn’t even the correct time for a drink.”   
  
“I  _ know _ , why do you think my bar’s so empty right now?”

Groaning, I picked up the glass, downed it, and slammed it back down on the counter.

“There! I drank it! You happy?”

“Are  _ you _ ?”

I honestly didn’t feel any different.

“No.” I told him honestly.

“Well, you probably have a better constitution than most; even with your shit health. Oh, my condolences by the way.”

“It’s fine, I don’t plan on kicking the bucket nearly as soon as they say.”

“I can believe that. Though I admit, you seem to be the type of person who finds more comfort in nature rather than the bottom of a glass.”

I snorted, “So, a trip to the local woods?”.

“That’s a great idea, actually.”

That raised my eyebrow.

“You know from here to Cary State Forest is probably about a six hour walk right? Two hours if I run periodically.”

“Well, how long are you gonna be locked out for?”

“A few days.” I lied. “ But that’s not the problem. You know you need a  _ reservation _ to actually stay there overnight, yeah?”

“Well who said anything about staying overnight? And besides, there’re plenty more parks than that one.”

“That’s true.” I conceded. “Well anyway, I need to get going, see you later.”.

As I turned to walk out of the bar, I could have sworn I heard the barkeep call me something.

“See ya soon, Daryll.”

****☆☆☆**  
⏮⏮⏮Line Break⏭⏭⏭  
**☆☆☆**  
**

I had just found a local park to sit in and reflect. The thoughts that were still bouncing around my head had at least settled down to a level I could manage. And most of them were still along the lines of, “What the fuck- what the fuck- what the fuck- what the fuck- what the fuck- no seriously what the fuck? What the actual  _ fuck _ ? Is this all just a falsity and fate’s a cruel mistress? ((3))”. You know, the normal stuff you think after  _ you find out that nobody but you has a face _ .

*Crunch*

The sound of a twig breaking underfoot pulls me from my thoughts as I observe the forest I ended up in. It was pretty meh to be honest. Trees, leaves, trees, stick, grass,  _ oh _ a bush. After a few hours of non-stop walking and labelling basic forest features I found a  _ disturbing _ lack of animal life. I took a seat at the base of a large tree, sun peaking through its leaves enough to hit me in the face, and closed my eyes for a few seconds, only for the sunlight to disappear.

I cracked open my eyes, expecting an unseen storm to be rolling in, only to be shocked for what felt like too many times already today.

The scenery of the forest had changed  _ completely _ . Where there were a few trees spread out over a large area before, I was greeted with trees packed in as far as I could see; which  _ wasn’t _ a great amount. This was because the canopy the trees formed was pretty much a blanket so extraordinarily thick that sunlight could barely make its way through to shine on whatever random spots it could; these spots also grew some weird looking flowers, though I recognised  _ some _ as belonging to eastern countries. Which was weird.

This place seemed to be a hotspot for mushrooms of all sorts because of it; though they are not of any species I could recognise, I’m sure I could find edible ones if I found myself unable to leave for any reason at all. Which… might not be so bad. This whole area feels…  _ magical _ … for some reason. As if it belonged to some fantasy setting instead of the scorched earth and concrete jungles created by human greed and avarice. If I were to account for the effects of climate change and other human interferences, there should only be around twenty or so locations that could match the ambience and atmosphere of this place; seven of them being the natural wonders–already severely threatened by human pollution.

I walked over to a small puddle in the dirt, and noticed something wrong with the image reflected back.

I reached a tentative finger to my face and felt around, before almost screaming.

_ My eyes were bigger, and my nose was smaller! _

He could see the colours of his eyes much more  _ easily _ now. It seems that the shape of his iris and pupil changed too.

Normally, such disproportionate sizes should be hideous, but for some reason it was… almost normal looking. Attractive, even.

I didn’t have any explanation for this phenomenon, as the information that I  _ shouldn’t _ have seems to have slowed for the most part, which I’m both grateful for and annoyed by. I’ve just about learned the basic outline of human history, mostly focusing on what modern humans know. And all the ‘knowledge’ from the  **void** tells me that practically any verse, world, dimension or ‘reality’ that I could have ended up in would be Sapien-centric, or at the very least Human-centric. That I can confirm. ((4))

With that said, I reaffirmed myself and decided that this forest would still be better than the  **void** ; an easy decision to make, but I’m still light headed from processing so much information and stimulation  _ with _ alcohol in my system. I shouldn’t actually be able to feel such emotions, or  _ anything _ at all really. In the end-

Tearing my gaze away from the puddle of (what I assume to be) water, I let out a sigh that I had been building up for a while.

“This all feels like a dream.” I finally managed to get out.

As I turn around to make my way back to the base of the tree, a… rip(?) in reality appears in front of my very eyes. Scarlet, violet and black colours are present within the thin line extending across about a metre in a horizontal direction in conjunction to my position, at both ends are tied ribbons which appear to act as if they were stoppers on a zipper. And speaking of eyes, this rift(?) opened in a shape that was ellipsoidal enough to look like a palpebral fissure; And just what had to be inside this eye-shaped tear(?), that’s right, more fucking eyes! Complete with crimson irises and a piercing stare. In fact it was so unnerving that I completely missed the fact that there was a person  _ inside _ the damn thing!  _ Okay _ , okay, so I’m not that situationally unaware but I was kinda focused on the  **eye of eyes** . ((5))

“{{My, my; Are you that interested in the Gap?}}” The voice was feminine, but whatever was just spoken to me completely missed me due to a language barrier; Which raises several alarms. But turning my line of sight from the aperture(?) to the speaker I was blown away.   
  
_ “Holy shit, she’s got a face. That makes her the first person I’ve met who has actually realised my existence.” _

As pathetic as it was, this made her my favourite person on account of being the  _ only _ person I’ve ‘seen’. It was a logic so simple that I might as well have been a duckling imprinting on the first thing I see... wait- does this make her my ‘mommy’ in this case? ((Hah! No.  _ God _ no.))

I could only see her upper torso, shoulders and head due to the crevasse(?) she was… unnaturally  _ beautiful _ , I guess. Not unlike trying to compare a regular person to one who had plastic surgery or some form of cosmetic drug. In fact, looking back at myself, I looked a bit more...  _ unique _ … than those faceless figures.

Even before the transformation, this person I ‘possessed’ had traits that were quite rare; and that’s when I registered a particular detail.

Her face… was just like how I was right now–obviously with major differences; that being that her’s was feminine, but mainly that her eyes were slightly  _ larger _ than mine in relation to the proportions of the rest of her facial features. It was… ‘perfect’, somehow.

The trigger of ‘beauty’ is entirely dependent upon easily distinguished patterns and symmetry. Attraction of a sexual or even romantic sort is influenced by body image via the baser instincts that indicate that one could be a viable partner if only for an optimal genetic advantage for one’s offspring. Patterns also occur throughout nature which more ancient humans relied upon in order to determine many environmental factors and how they would play into either increasing or decreasing their chances of survival. Whereas a lack of symmetry in nature often meant that something was ‘unnatural’. And yet my own face and the face in front of me seemed to lack any of the imperfections that would indicate that something was natural and not artificial. Simply put, the perfect symmetry actually made  _ us _ more  _ unnatural _ than natural. ((6))

The immediately identifiable features I  _ were _ able to see were her purple eyes and long blonde hair that was covered by a pink mob cap with a red ribbon similar to the stoppers of the wormhole(??). The actual length of her hair was obscured by the hole-in-time-space(?????). She wore a purple dress of some sort, with patterns which I didn’t recognise. And also carried a parasol which rested on her shoulder.

“{{It’s rude not to answer when someone is speaking to you. You know?}}” I don’t know what happened, but the moment she spoke I felt like I was approaching a grave danger. However, it seems that she is more annoyed than angered at my lack of response rather than my impertinent appraisal of her form. Even so, I should say something to placate her. In the off-chance that she could tear me apart with those portals(?).

“I… cannot speak… your tongue…” Maintaining eye contact, I slowly enunciated the message I was attempting to convey, my voice purposefully low and never increasing in dynamic in order to make sure I was not provoking her nor was I coming off as aggressive. It was safe to assume she was Japanese or at least was speaking Japanese according to whatever knowledge I could retain. “I do  _ not _ understand… Japanese.  _ Nihongo ga… wakarimasen? _ {I do not understand Japanese(?).}”. 

“{{I suppose I shouldn’t have expected someone from  _ Jacksonville Florida _ of all places to speak the tongue of the Land of the Rising Sun,}}” Well at the very least she appears amused,  _ I think _ . She seems to gesture towards me; “{Perhaps now you should try speaking. Manipulating the language barrier is quite simple for someone of my particular talents, after all.}” She suggests with a hint of pride.

The wet sack of meat in my skull I call a ‘brain’ did a little dance and produced a english-japanese dictionary, “… {Holy shit how did you do that-} urrghk, I mean,  _ nani _ ?” ‘She manipulated the language barrier?’ What does that even mean? Do the people of Japan have access to sorcery? That’s  _ not _ what the  **void** told me!

“{Perhaps I should explain your dilemma a little bit more clearly; You are  _ not _ in Japan. It’s probably as close as you could guess without saying India or god’s forbid  _ Australia _ . Can you believe that some Americans are that stupid? No wait, that would be after ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ are created. Give it a decade or two, the stupidity of the outside world will  _ amaze _ you; But ignore that for now, it’s irrelevant.}” ((7))

“{No no, go on, I really want to know how  _ anybody _ could confuse an  _ English _ speaking country for Japan.}” ((Because with the power of the internet, people can write whatever they want without fear of serious consequences; And stupid people are given a voice.))

“*ahem* { _ Anyways, _ you are currently in Gensōkyō, the Forest of Magic to be specific. Greater Gensōkyō, also known as the Land of Illusions or the Land of Fantasy—there’s quite a few names—is the place where the Forgotten become Remembered. It has been sealed off for over a century from the outside world. Maintaining the Barrier around Gensōkyō is  _ my _ job; but despite that, you’ve managed to slip through.}”

I nodded as I took in the information, “{So the fantasy realm is sealed off from the world by a barrier, I  _ somehow _ slip through, and I have to go on some  _ magical adventure _ to make my way back home. I’m guessing.}”. ((8))

And my guess is immediately invalidated as she giggles, “{Nothing as cliche as that, I’m afraid. ((9)) Don’t get me wrong, you will still get the chance to go ‘home’; the Shrine Maiden at the Hakurei Shrine sends outsiders back to the outside world every now and then. Being the Gap Sage, I could send you back right now. However, I’m afraid that I can only create a gap to Jacksonville, whereas your true home is the  **void** ; Something which is beyond my abilities, and raises several questions about your true nature.}”

I immediately take a step back and prepare myself… before realising that I can’t fight; ignoring the fact that my instincts tell me she could  _ destroy me in less than a yoctosecond _ if she so wished.  _ “How does she know that I came from the  _ **_void_ ** _?” _ .

“{It would be unwise to insult my intelligence. After all, though you may have ‘existed’ far longer than I, I have  _ lived _ much,  _ much _ longer than the body you inhabit. In fact, any person attuned with magic and the supernatural could easily tell that you are…  _ above _ … the average human. It seems that you have a tendency to be able to ‘slip’, into other verses. While most people would never be able to travel to other verses, for one that can, you are actually  _ incredibly weak _ ; For now, it seems. ((10)) So I can say without a doubt that there is no ‘home’ for you in the outside world... But- you could make one  _ here _ .}”

Her hand, the one that wasn’t holding the parasol, reached out of the ‘gap’, and I saw that a collapsed fan was being used as a pointer for some location. “{The human village borders this forest, in that direction.}” She finished.

She makes another gesture and a ‘gap’—as she called it—appears beside me. Suddenly, a blade launched downwards out of it and embedded its tip into the earth, making me flinch and jerk away violently in surprise.

Upon seeing my reaction, she smirks; “{It’s dangerous to go alone. Take this.}” She says, before she disappears into the gap. Leaving me to ponder at what exactly that last line meant.

Turning back to the sword, it was clearly one of oriental making. A katana, or something similar; eighty centimetre blade, clearly meant for two handed use, with very little design on its black handle. From what I know, katanas are hyper-specialised on slashing, hewing and slicing–not hacking, bashing and stabbing. Any other usage of the blade would put too much strain on the brittle metal and chip it or even break it. In fact, it was the low quality of the metal that gave the blade its shape in the cooling process. It was truly the best blade the Japanese could make, but totally inferior to almost any other steel blade because of an unfair disadvantage in material.

I looked down near the shallow perforation that the katana had bored into the ground and saw what I could assume to be the sheath or scabbard lying there. I took it, placed it in two of the belt loops on the left side of my jeans, making sure to tie that fabric cord into place, presuming that that was its purpose. Nonetheless I slid the katana into the sheath and took off towards what would hopefully be my new home.

**{\/And so… with his brain small, his meat huge, and his pain endless… he treads onwards…/\\}**

**Prologue End**

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**   
Most of these will be recycled. Though, I guess most of you won’t have seen these anyway.

**−1-** "No, Matthius is not a Self Insert - Original Character; this is stated in the tags. He’s merely my main and favourite Original Character as well as the guy I customise all my other characters after when I play games. Maybe I will add some Reader/Reviewer Inserts as well as Self Inserts of my friends for the sole purpose of bullying Matthius. But for the foreseeable future, there will be no Self Inserts of myself. In the  _ later _ future, however, I might give Matthius the opportunity to ‘kill’ me in retribution for all the shit I put him through. Let’s hope he doesn’t quantum tunnel his way to me and actually kill me in real life. That would be a problem."   
**AO3 Extra-** This still applies, but not for the ff.net version.

**−0.5-** Also you can pronounce Matthius as either Matthews (Ma-ff-yoo-s) /maθ(ˈf)ju:z/ or Maffius (Ma-ff-ee-uh-s/su) /mafi:əs(u:)/. It is  _ not _ Mattias (as in Ma-tt-ie-es) /ˈmɛ(a)tʌɪɛz/ or Matthias (Ma-ff-ie-es) /maθ(ˈf)ʌɪɪˈs/.

**0-** "I’m going to say it now before you get confused: Yes, Matthius will be able to ‘slip’ into other universes. Granted, he only keeps his skills and powers, and, with some outside help for the first few times, his memories. And no, he can’t do so at will, at least not yet. Again, let’s cross fingers none of these dimension jumping characters will find and kill us all."   
**AO3 Extra-** This still applies, but not for the ff.net version.

**1-** “Matthius is asexual (maybe not necessarily aromantic), and so doesn’t exactly produce oxytocin, and there’s really no apparent use for fornication. Even so, I can’t write romance and I sure as hell ain’t gonna write fluff or smut. And so no, Matthius will not get a harem because frankly,  _ nobody _ would be interested. Not that he minds, being an entity from the  **void** .”   
**AO3 Extra-** Yeah, but this might change depending on who fucks him over. Still doing a hard pass on writing smut.

**2-** “ “No!!! Anywhere but Jacksonville, Florida!.. Anywhere but Florida...” Yes, this is a FilthyFrank reference. No, Matthius is  _ not _ Salamander Man. He might slip into the FilthyFrank Cinematic Universe and learn some Ass-Flute at one point. It’s uh… not exactly a useful skill to have but… I’ll toss the idea up there.

~ Video (From what I can find on YouTube):  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_dTLeM1K1E> ~

Main reason being that FilthyFrank takes place around 2013-2017.”   
**AO3 Extra-** Volume Two (2007-2015) to Volume Three (2016-Present); So this will be a while, as Volume One covers until a year after PoFV (2003-2006)

**3-** Obvious Remilia foreshadowing is obvious.

**4-** “Think about it. How many fictional/cinematic verses are there where there is a  _ complete and utter absence _ of humans or humanoid life? This includes any and all inventions, innovations or even inspirations made by humans. So even if there are no ‘humans’, there might still be evidence of human interference. We really are a bit biased and ego-centric as creators huh.”   
**AO3 Extra-** Added note: Matthius can only travel to a universe where humans existed at some point. No humans, no link for Matthius to get there.

**5-** “Wait until you witness the Night of Nights, Matty Boi.”

**6-** “I mean, if you were to see an anime character in real life, they would definitely be more ‘attractive’ or ‘beautiful’ than your regular human (unless it’s a ‘realistic’ anime face); The difference between something that was naturally created as a result of genetics compared to a face that was drawn to the artist’s liking. You don’t see an ‘ugly’ character unless the artist was doing it on purpose or unless they are genuinely bad at drawing. It’s also why there is a bias in character designs, especially considering the factor of the artist’s sexuality.”

**7-** “Should Yukari be able to see the future and/or the ‘Real World’? Yes.   
Does she ever do this in canon? Not from what I remember.   
God only knows what kind of messed up shit she would see though. *cough* rule 34 *cough cough*  _ erotic and pornographic _ doujinshi *strangled choking*”   
**AO3 Extra-** Yukari knows what you did. She’s seen your browser history.   
  
_ Don’t think incognito mode will save you from this either! _

**8- “** Is it gonna be an adventure? Yes.   
Is it going to have magic? Abso-fucking-lutely.   
Is it going to be a magical adventure where you have fun? Well- maybe the readers will have fun, but Matthius is going to need therapy after a while.   
Also, Matthius is already starting to develop/inherit a personality. I’m aiming for a sarcastic bastard  _ but _ … who knows with how inconsistent this whole thing is.” 

**9-** That’s where you’re wrong, Yukari. This fic? Filled to the  _ brim _ with terrible writing, incohesive plot, and so many story elements that don’t make sense.  _ Also _ , Matthius never got her name for plot reasons; Mainly, since she wasn’t properly introduced until PCB,  _ after _ EOSD.

_ Funny Touhou meme number. _

**10-** “On the topic of Matthius suffering. Yes, this is  _ mostly _ because he is extremely weak by most standards.

Let’s put this into perspective, at this point in the story:  
If Matthius were to fight me. He would win.  
If Matthius were to fight the average adult. He would win.  
If Matthius were to fight even an inexperienced soldier (of any military), assuming they had about a year of training. He would lose.  
If Matthius were to fight a fairy. He would… ‘win’, I guess? But they could just stay up high and pelt him with attacks until he gets a concussion.  
If he were to fight Kosuzu. He would… be beaten to death via a large collection of demon books?  
If Matthius were to fight Shinyoumaru (no Miracle Mallet). He uh… might stand some chance??? (She is a pretty small target tho.)  
If Matthius were to fight Rinnosuke. He would be beaten even harder. I mean, in all the fan-games where he was a viable combatant, he was fairly weak, but still. He has the fucking _ame-no-murakumo_ in [Touhou Labyrinth 2] and was fairly decent combat-wise in the first game. So I would be fairly justified in deciding that Rinnosuke would be much stronger than Matthius. Implications also could mean that Rinnosuke has _spell cards_ (Like “First Aid” and “Battle Command”, having being nerfed from Mannosuke to Supportsuke Low-Stats-High-Aptitude having ass), despite being unable to fight with danmaku. Which is kinda weird for me, a plebian Touhou fan who lacks knowledge about the fine details.  
If Matthius were to fight each of the Fairies of Light separately. He would die from a ‘prank’. Assuming he _didn’t_ , they still have magic and he doesn’t.  
He would be obliterated by Cirno. Let’s be honest.  
So, the bar at this point for power development is Cirno; as in, by the end of this fic, he could stand a _fair_ chance against the Ice Fairy with all buffs factored in. No guarantees though.”  
**AO3 Extra-** Will add stats on the next ‘chapter’ to clarify things.

**11-** “Yukari knows what’s good. And if you didn’t get that reference, you must be like six years old or younger. What are you doing on fanfiction.net? (or AO3, or really any other platform I feel bothered enough to publish this fic on.)”   
**AO3 Extra-** This is in fact AO3; I finally got around to it.

**12-** “From a tumblr shitpost made by [chemtrailmix] which someone tagged as being the last line of the Great Gatsby. It’s funny, sure, but contextually incorrect:

  1. Matthius’ brain (as of right now) is about 1100g (Male avg. is 1370g) and 1190 cm3 (compared to the average of 1260cm3). His IQ would be around 120 though.
  2. Matthius’ genitals and their dimensions/measurements are of no importance; he’s ‘canonically’ asexual, and I’m not gonna write a scene with him urinating (outside the occasional non-canon omake). In fact, they might as well not exist.
  3. Matthius’ pain is not endless… _yet_.”



**AO3 Extra-** Not sure about this one. Gimme a moment…   
…    
Yeah, not authorised to give that information yet.

**True Word Count:** 5300~ **  
** **Total Word Count:** 7100~ **  
** **Date of Upload:** First of February (1/2/2021)

* * *

**Chapter Preview: Matthius gets Blinded by T-Pose Goth Girl Roomba-chan**

“{It’s not that I’m blind. It’s that everything is pitch black for some reason. Also, blinded by a  _ what _ ?}”   
  
{☆☆☆Same thing.}

“{[Moon Sign; “Moonlight Ray”]!}”

“{Huh, what was-} ARE THOSE FUCKING LASERS! No wait- THERE’S  _ TWO _ !”

*clang* *tumble* *crash*

“aa…kuso-”

{☆☆☆: It’s okay, those don’t go all the way, unlike scissors…  _ or knives _ .}

“Oh, you know what? Nevermind. Keep doing that. That’s  _ great _ information you’re giving me, weird mysterious voice that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”

“Tune in next time, on Matthius’ Fantastically Inane Adventure(s), feat. That-one-guy-who-wants-to-be-a-Hero-of-Justice and That-other-guy-who-wants-to-be-a-Hero-of-Justice.”

“{Wait a sec, I thought  _ you _ weren’t supposed to be back until the next incident.}”

{☆☆☆: That’s a really blatant reference, Yukari, and they won't even appear here until the next Volume; Though, I am loving the over-ambiguous names. _Also_ , stop reading the manuscript, Matt; That’s for _me_.}

“{[Night Sign; “Night Bird”]}”

“{Why are there so many projectiles?}”

{☆☆☆: I can’t wait until he reaches the 6th Stage.}

{☆: Has anyone else realised that this is a Disgaea reference?}

{☆☆☆: Okay, first, shut the fuck up; You’re not supposed to be here yet. Second, so many other works do this sort of skit; We ain’t ripping off  _ anyone _ here.}

"SHUT UP I'M DYING HERE!"

*Pichun~!*  
  
{☆: Damn~~~ He _dead_ dead.}


	2. Call to Duty

**Notice:**   
{(1*) …} / {{(1*) …}} =  _ English _ (This only applies if the Context Bar does  _ not _ specify ‘English Speech → English Text’)   
{(2*) …} / {{(2*) …}} =  _ Japanese _ (This only applies if the Context Bar does  _ not _ specify ‘Japanese Speech → English Text’)   
  
**This will not be in use until characters that do not default to either English or Japanese appear.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Status:  
** **Arc One - Chapter Zero - One: Enter the Tokugawa’s Underdog ~ First Encounter**

**☆☆☆** **  
** **[Forest of Magic | Third Person: Following Matthius | ? Time | Japanese Speech → English Text]** **  
** **☆☆☆**

“‘ **Māhō no Mori** ’ huh?” Matthius wondered as he explored the immediate vicinity; “Fitting name;  _ Too _ fitting actually.”.   
((I used the Japanese name for no reason; If you ever see ‘Māhō no Mori’ used, just know it only means ‘Forest of Magic’.))

He wondered back to his previous assertion that the forest—and by extension all of ‘Greater Gensōkyō’—was magical in some way; “But is it  _ figurative _ or completely  _ literal _ ?”.

The existence of magic was undeniable as this point, but Matthius still had a hard time wrapping his head around the concept. Unlike sciences, the various fields of magic all stem from different origins and follow different practices and methods from one another; to the point where they may contradict entirely.

As he thought intensely, he also made sure to keep his feet moving, so that he could make it to the village before night fell completely. He tried,  _ tried _ , not to make too many turns when he could, as he wasn’t confident that he could reconfigure his path if he lost direction; that’s how dense this damn forest was. Way too easy to get lost in here if he wasn’t paying attention.

He had to pick up the pace, or before he knew it, the black of night would render him utterly lost in the woods.

While making his way through the progressively darkening forest, Matthius curiously slowed down until he reached a complete halt. With an eyebrow raised in cautious interest, he lifted his right hand to eye-level; where it began to ‘brighten’ for a few scant moments before returning to their natural hue. Under the assumption that this may be his body reacting to the ‘magic’ in the air—similar to how the body would produce a fever in response to the presence of foreign bacteria and infection—he began to walk even faster. Before he could continue however, the extremity lit up and began to radiate enough light to illuminate the immediate area; more importantly, the sound of searing flesh could be heard throughout the forest.

He promptly gave the hand a second glance-over. Seeing smoke coming from the back of it, Matthius widened his eyes at the sight of his dorsal being burned by some outside force. Forced to fall onto a nearby tree for support as he struggled to stand, he gritted his teeth in pain as he began to suffer from hyperhidrosis and ventilation. Even when he tried to ‘smother’ the unnatural burn with his other hand (though this was a dumb idea in retrospect; as he could have just ended up burning that one too), his torrid right hand simply reignited with more ferocity.

Lacrimation began to form in his eyes as the palpebral came down to meet the blepharal ((1)); and he attempted to bite down a scream… which didn’t work.

“{Ah!  _ Fuck _ !}” He yelled, completely uncaring for the fact that he switched back to English. ((2))

After two… maybe three minutes?… Hold on, let me check.

Yeah he’s still screaming.

{☆: Hey, so is he gonna be here a while?}

{☆☆☆: Oh, you’re back. I’d say about… twenty minutes? Could be longer, fourth degree burns aren’t exactly clean you know.}

{☆: So what are we gonna do?}

{☆☆☆: The only appropriate thing to-}

“{I  _ just _ started walking! What-  oh fuck it got  _ worse _ !}”

{☆☆☆: As I was saying, the only appropriate thing to do here would be to skip it, like I did in the original.}

{☆: My thoughts exactly.}

{☆☆☆:  _ You _ don’t  _ have _ thoughts.}

**☆☆☆** **  
** **⏮⏮⏮Line Break⏭⏭⏭** **  
** **~About Thirty Minutes Later~** **  
** **☆☆☆**

The pallor form of Matthius lay motionless in the grass; the glimmer of his hand illumined his blank face. He had been laying there for a while, trying to make sure he wouldn’t be ‘attacked’ again–or that any magical entity that targeted his right hand would not be irritated further.

After having shaken off the trauma of recent events, he pushes himself up into a sitting position. Now, he hesitantly inspected the origin; bracing for any more pain this course of action may cause. As he eyed the back of his hand, he saw it; There sat a stigmata on his hand’s dorsal, as if it had been branded by a red-hot iron.

It was a depiction of a circle with three equal sectors that were shaped like hollyhock leaves, but with many distinct cracks and features which broke them apart. ((3))

Swallowing down the saliva that had built up in his mouth, he whispered anxiously, “What  _ is _ this?”.

When he began tensing and untensing the muscles in his hand, clenching and unclenching, contracting and relaxing, trying to get the sigil to do  _ something _ , some sort of function… nothing happened. Eventually, he gave up, standing back on his feet–only to be forced to lean on  _ another _ tree as his body began to convulse in pain.

(“You appear to be in a great amount of pain. I’d suggest meditation; it will help calm the mind and nerves.”)

Stumbling yet again, Matthius could only gawk at the voice that seemingly reverberated throughout his mind; yet he could deduce almost instantly that the sigil on the back of his hand was the source.

“Who are you–and what are you doing in my hand?”

(“My name is Tokugawa Tsuyometsu; and to prevent further misconceptions, I am not  _ in _ your hand, I am only communicating through it. I am somewhere else within your being, but I can’t figure out which of the two it is, as of the moment. Enough of that; I am to assume you are the host the goddess was referring to?”)

“Host? ‘Goddess’? What are you talking about?”

(“Just like you, I come from the  **void** . A woman with hair as golden as the rays of the sun, ano- ‘blonde’ ((4)) I believe it was called- She came to me after I had repeated my fall at the hands of the Satcho Alliance’s advanced weaponry for what had been countless times ((5)) . Regardless, it has been more than a century since then, and she offered me a chance to experience the modern world. She told me that it was the ‘Primal Expanse of Japan in the Modern World’ and so I accepted it ((6)); The condition being that I could only observe as a spectator in a suitable host.”)

Matthius eye’s became downcast at the revelation of _another_ **void** inhabitant with a defined history and past. Feeling no small amount of jealousy stirring within, it was immediately crushed at the recognition of the ‘Goddess’’ description; something which Tsuyometsu seemed to pick up on.

(“It would appear you know who I speak of. Tell me; Did she bring you here as well?”)

He shook his head and answered honestly, “No, she didn’t, but I don’t doubt she may have planned this to begin with. Apparently, I am merely an existence that had ‘slipped out’ of the  **void** and immediately placed inside the nearest suitable body; These are words she didn’t say directly, but I assume that is what happened from what she  _ did _ . She never told me her name though.   
  
I have a question though, another one; Why did you call her a ‘goddess’?”

(“I did not think it was possible to escape the void on your own. Regardless, that must mean that you are supplied only basic knowledge of most human concepts correct? I, on the other hand, merely have knowledge that is surely outdated now. I suppose we shall both experience the wonders and horrors of this world together. And to answer that question, I must inform you that my training as a samurai far exceeds most, and I’m able to sense and comprehend the ‘presence’ of other entities and compare them to my own; That woman is the first presence that has frozen me still on the spot. ((7))   
  
Not  _ once _ had I encountered a presence so much greater than my own that it couldn’t have belonged to any mere human. That’s why I call her a Goddess, it’s simply the only thing she could be. I accepted her offer not just because of a want to experience the modern world, but on the fears that she would either do so anyway, or  _ obliterate my entire existence  _ _ right then and there _ . I don’t believe she is  _ truly _ a Goddess, though; her presence suggests none of the Shinto gods or deities. But her presence also has another attribute which scares me, and it’s that it suggests that she is a  _ Yōkai _ ; A  _ Legendary _ Yōkai at that. You must heed my words when I say that we are to under  _ no circumstances _ , even  _ think _ , about inconveniencing her.”)

Matthius begins to sweat nervously as he remembers his encounter with the blonde- now possibly identified Yōkai; assuming that the term was synonymous with something bad. Counting his lucky stars, he finally picks himself up fully; dusting himself off and continuing his trek through the Forest of Magic. Moonlight began replacing sunlight, as the evening gave way to twilight.

(“I must say; this place is  _ unnaturally _ saturated in magic. The majority of the energy from the local ley lines seems to be suffused into those mushrooms. I recommend you take a few. I can’t guarantee the effect they’ll have when consumed, but from similar experience, the raw, latent mana can be utilised to further increase your own magic potential. ((8))”) The disembodied voice commented.

_ “That sounds fake.” _ Matthius remarked in his head as he scouted out the area ahead.

(“I assure you, I have no reason to lie; In fact, the stronger you get, the better it is for me.”)

_ “You can-” _

(“Yes, you don’t have to use your voice to talk to me.”)

… 

_ “Tell me about these experiences you had.” _

(“It is believed by people in my time, that when an animal overcame all natural odds, growing past the point most would die from old age, they would naturally gain greater and greater amounts of magic; and eventually, even divinity. I have seen these creatures. I have even slain and eaten one, a wolf; that is how I gained control of my own magic.”)

Deciding he’d been convinced, the brunet teenager(?) began to pick a few of the smaller mushrooms from the ground and place them in the pockets of his jeans. Re-evaluating the possible risks of eating  _ magic shrooms _ from being toxic hallucinogens at worst to possibly being explosive death. He wasn’t sure if that was what magic did when injected into an object, much less a mushroom, but it was better to be safe than sorry. ((9))

When Matthius had reached one of the lesser densely packed parts of the forest, Tsuyometsu chimed back in, (“Perhaps we should rest here for the night? I wish to discuss one last thing before we sleep; We can do so whilst clearing the perimeter.”).

Again, under instructions from a dead man, Matthius encircled a small clearing; making sure to check for wild animals or possibly even  _ magic _ wild animals (he still wasn’t sure about eating them). Tsuyometsu starts the conversation yet again.

(“What has become of Japan since the end of Sakoku? ((10)) Has it become prosperous or impoverished? Do the Samurai still exist even beyond the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and past the Meiji Restoration?”)

**☆☆☆** **  
** **⏮⏮⏮Line Break⏭⏭⏭** **  
** **☆☆☆**

Answering question after question, Matthius eventually became tired and Tsuyometsu decided to relent.

(“It seems that the more humanity progresses, the more suffering we are able to see as a result of our own actions. I am still in disbelief that this ‘America’ destroyed two civilian cities with these ‘Atomic Bombs’; But as unfortunate as it is, it was likely one of the only ways to get our great nation to surrender. Even after the end of the Samurai, the Japanese military fought to the last breath for the emperor and I commend that. Yet we cannot fathom sentencing countless innocents to death to continue a war we knew we lost. I’ve seen the nature of war, the iniquity of its players; but to think that such atrocities not only still exist, but are committed on such a scale… ((11))”)

Matthius wanted to depose against that statement. After all, he  _ knew _ about the war crimes of all sides, and what the Japanese did to the rest of the Asian countries was damn near unforgivable; especially since those old pruny fucks didn’t dare ‘fess up to it.

_ “Since when was I so hostile?” _ Matthius pondered.

(“Is something wrong?”)

“No, forget it; I’ll tell you about Japan’s own actions during the Second World War another time.”

Matthius was about to start putting together the camp when the sigil began glowing brightly, stopping him in his tracks.

(“ Get down! ”) Tsuyometsu ‘shouted’ inside his head, making him drop to the floor on pure instinct. Looking up, a cloud of multicoloured spores began to spread throughout the area, slightly inhibiting his ability to breathe.

(“I knew that something was wrong with this forest.”) Tsuyometsu muttered. (“Listen closely, the nature of this forest can only be described as ‘malevolent’; There is a definite presence of man-eaters—both plant and animal—living here, the spores of mushrooms which come alive from overexposure to magic are lethal, and ‘misfortune’ seems to build up around us. ((12))”).

Sensing that he was about to go into a panic, Tsuyometsu continued, (“It would be impossible to leave while it’s night; On the subject of destinations, where was it you were headed?”).

Carefully clambering his way out of the cover of the spores, Matthius explained, “Supposedly-”.

He was cut off as he accidentally bruised himself on a particularly rocky part of the soil; letting out a small “ow” before continuing.

“Supposedly there is a village on the edge of this forest; the  _ only _ one in the area. I’ve been trying to find it but I think I lost my direction.”

Tsuyometsu goes dead for a while, before making a conclusion; (“While I cannot find a ‘village’ of any sorts—the sheer amount of magic here pervades my senses—there does happen to be a rather small lake over to our right; it is likely this ‘village’ exists on one of the opposite corners; however, if we were to attempt to reach this village directly through the forest, you would most likely perish.

With this in mind, I suggest, come dawn, we travel to the lake and attempt to find an alternate path to the village.”)

As Matthius began to set up something resembling a campsite (far away from the poisonous spores), another interruption occurred. This time, the glow was faint.

(“There is something headed our way. It’s magical, I know this for sure. It also appears to have some sort of attachment to nature. A nature spirit is likely the worst-case scenario; I was not given the opportunity to train you after all. Fret not, for its presence suggests curiosity and not pursuit. We still have a chance to hide. Those bushes over there are the most viable option.”)

Spotting the bushes the samurai spirit was referring to, Matthius took cover and awkwardly wrapped a hand around the tsuka of his katana; Anticipating a possible confrontation as he calmed his nerves.

Making sure he was as quiet as possible as he peeked his head slightly out of the shrubbery’s cover.

“What the-” He stifled himself before he could say anything more.

Lo and behold. A small humanoid creature with translucent wings fluttered about aimlessly past the spot he was just setting up camp in. It looked more like a young child than any actual threat, but the blatant magic was enough to turn Matthius’ blood cold. ((13))

He watched as the thing seemed to investigate the site; as in, it would just poke something, look at it for a few seconds, and then move on to the next thing.

“What is that?” Matthius whispered as he tried to take in more visuals of the possible threat to his life; said ‘threat’ kept moving out of his line of sight.

Whatever  _ it _ was,  _ it _ was ridiculously small, small enough it could pass for a human toddler–were it not  _ flying _ . It also held a flower, the function of which was lost on Matthius; he only saw it as symbolic of nature, which Tsuyometsu stated it bore an attachment to.

(“Yōsei, if the old tales and recounts are correct. The same tales mentioned that these Yōsei only live on the legendary Mount Hōrai ((14)). They appear small because their hearts know of no evil, thus they are as eternally innocent as the most naive of children. A recent, no, it was  _ a _ tale from the then established Iwate which mentioned that the Hōrai’s inhabitants could bring a person back from the dead. The  **void** has given me a small glimpse of the Japan up to twenty years after my death, but no further than that, for reasons unknown. Because of that occurrence, whatever other details on the Yōsei that has been discovered since then is not known to me. ((15))”)

The news supplied by the Tokugawa samurai only served to put him even further on edge.  _ “Okay, but the real question is; Can I defeat it?” _ He asked uneasily.

(“Yōsei should not be outright violent, they are born as aspects of nature and so likely defend nature if it is threatened, so I see no reason to instigate any sort of altercation. That being said, for a being which was feared as one that could cheat  _ death _ , this Yōsei in particular is quite weak; I’d say you could fight off about six of it at once ((16)). Range is a problem, however. It can fly and so likely has a way to target you from a distance; The most plausible case is that the flower in its hands acts as the catalyst for such a projectile. Stay vigilant.”)

Being informed that he is possibly a good deal stronger than the Yōsei, he slowly rose out of the bushes.

But upon hearing the incongruous sound of psithurism, the Yōsei turned to come face to face with the awkward form Matthius; who was covered in a random assortment of leaves and other greenery.

Matthius coughed. “ Yo …?” He tried.

The Yōsei’s eyes widened and it flew up in a frenzy, shooting small luminescent spheres of magic, blue in colouration. From his inability to predict such reaction, though he may have tensed a little, Matthius was caught off guard and thus unable to dodge any of them, receiving four hits on his torso; All of which dissipated upon contact with little more than a spark.

“ _ Wow _ … okay…  _ that _ stings.” He lets out as a small spike of pain registers at the point(s) of contact.

It seems like they are  _ significantly _ less painful than the sensation of having a sigil burnt into you. ((17)) Despite this, Matthius hugs his torso with his left arm.

Seeing this, the Yōsei seemed to come back to its senses (did it have any?) and ceased fire immediately. It slowly floated towards him in a non-threatening manner; but Matthius was still  _ very much _ threatened.

“ I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to shoot you! ” The creature cried as it flew small circles around the tanned man’s body in a fit of panic.

Said man wasn’t feeling like much of a man after his complete and utter failure to dodge the simplest of attacks.

(“Words cannot  _ describe _ ,  how disappointed I am you didn’t dodge that .”)

Now that the fairy was well within striking range, Matthius seriously contemplated attempting to claim vengeance for this dishonour; But logic won where emotions were not quite developed, so he stuck to interrogating the poor thing.

(“At the very least, we won’t have to practice emotional discipline; That was always the worst.”)

Tsuyometsu was actually starting to become a little bit annoying, Matthius decided, as he questioned the fairy. Turns out that the thing had gotten lost on its way to the lake, which was apparently named the ‘ _ Kirimi no Mizumi’ _ {Mist(y) Lake} , and that apparently, the creature identifies itself as a ‘she’(?), and that ‘she’ had never seen a human in person, much less a ‘guy’. Matthius had also brought up concerns about the relevance of that tidbit when he received a strangely confused look in return. ((18))

(“The ability to think and speak does not make one intelligent, and yet we like to say that animals capable of such interactions are.”) ((19))

Unaware that such a comment was aimed at him as well as the fairy, Matthius managed to set up a tent and a fire out of whatever raw materials he could salvage, mostly with the help of Tsuyometsu. And when he was laying in his bed of soft leaves, Matthius began to let his mind wander, about the implications of his ‘normal life’ in a land that was entirely removed from the normal.

He then realised that Tsuyometsu hadn’t been made aware of the fact that this wasn’t actually Earth, or at least, it wasn’t really part of the ‘Outside World’, despite the fact that he is aware of the high concentration of magic; But that was a relatively small hurdle. In a land as magical as Gensokyo, Matthius could live a life as free and interesting as he wanted.

If, for some reason, he wanted to actively go out of his way to do that.

_ Sure _ he would actually have wanted to experience the life that a normal human lived, but he was living a life that, as far as he was concerned, most other humans would never experience!

Yeah… things could only get better from here… 

{☆: Oh my fucking god he jinxed it.}

{☆☆☆:  Why are you still here? }

{☆: Can I say it?}

{☆☆☆: Say what- Ughh, fine.}

{☆: Hold on, I need it to get the voice right for this.}

{☆☆☆: You  _ can’t _ ; We don’t have descriptors.}

{☆: “It was at this moment, that Matthius would come to realise,  _ he fucked up _ .”} ((20))

**Part One Complete  
**

* * *

**Author’s Note:**   
The ‘☆’ & ‘☆☆☆’ entities will exit in the true Chapter One; and they’ll re-emerge as proper characters later on in the fic.

**0-** Still not enough suffering.

**1-** Part of what makes this fanfic unique in any way is the ironic use of over technical terms.   
‘Palpebral’ just means the upper eyelid; and I’m sure you can guess that ‘Blepharal’ means the lower eyelid (though the terms are loose and interchangeable).

**2-** For the moments I  _ do _ change spoken language for characters, I’ll try to specify it in the dialogue tags.

**3-** In the original, I had pretty much given the readers the purpose of this ‘sigil’ already (beyond being the mark of Tsuyometsu); but, since this reboot will also try to focus a bit on making the damn thing readable, it’ll be explained  _ properly _ (as in, an in-universe explanation) later on.

**4-** I really don’t have any excuse to explain where he heard that term; there shouldn’t be, because I doubt they had many during his time.

**5-** So, because you aren’t going to get context for this anywhere besides Tsuyometsu’s backstory proper, I’ll explain it here:   
The enemies of the Tokugawa clan had guns. The Tokugawa clan didn’t think guns were necessary. I’m sure you can see where it goes from here.

Oda Nobunaga must be rolling in his fucking grave.

**6-** It’s been about 140 years since he died; that’s 20 more than the age of G.Gensōkyō in EoSD (approx. 120 years).

**7-** Tsuyometsu’s a living (not really) scouter. I’m not sure if I’ll explain the how in much detail during his backstory, but I’ll touch base with that eventually.

**8-** “Slap some honey on it, and you can increase stamina too!   
How many RPGs can you turn into a joke by spamming permanent stat-boosting items?  _ Pretty much all of them _ .   
Magicians do this all the time; Why do you think they live there?”

**9-** Don’t you hate it when you and your monke bois are sitting around eating mushrooms and getting high–and then you invent  _ French _ ?   
“Stoned Ape Theory” is as much a joke as Sigmund Freud’s entire existence.

I fucking hate Sigmund.

Also, funni toohoo number.

**10-** One of Matthius’ namesakes and candidate for the ‘Notable Ancestors’ tab is Matthew Perry; the man who  opened the  **borders** of Japan .   
  
**11-** Tsuyometsu has obviously seen shit like this happen, only on a much smaller scale, like villages and settlements. And yes, bombing a military base probably wouldn’t have stopped Japan; we’re talking about the deaths of hundreds of thousands of  _ civilians _ .

As shitty as the government and leadership was at the time, even Japan wouldn’t risk the lives of its people so brashly.

**12-** “Plot armour dictates that Matthius won’t run into many issues until we need him to; it also makes the spores less deadly.”

**13-** “Honest Question; Without any context or meta knowledge–Would you be scared of a little girl with wings and a magic flower that may or may not accidentally kill you?

The answer better have been yes because there’s no good reason to answer no; unless you’re a fucking degenerate.”

**14-** “Ooooh… That’s totally not gonna get awkward by Imperishable Night…” 

**15-** So, like I had mentioned before, twenty years is the span between his death and the establishment of G.Gensōkyō. Establishment of Iwate Prefecture happens about nine (kek) years after his death, in 1876; which means that Tsuyometsu dies around 1867.

**16-** Regular fairies are  _ hella _ weak in terms of physical strength.

**17-** When Matthius had the ‘sigil’ burned into him, it was about a 21 on the dol pain-scale. The fairy’s projectiles would only be about an 8 (comparable to stepping on a lego).

**18-** Matthius is  _ not _ dense; Just wilfully ignorant.   
Also, ask Rinnosuke why being male is kind of a big thing; He’s the only canonically relevant male that isn’t a turtle or some punch ghost thingy… which  _ isn’t _ a Stand.

Matthius won’t be getting a harem unless each and every one of you hold me up at gunpoint. Screw harems; most of the time they’re incredibly unrealistic.   


I’m all for unionising if you like the same person as someone else, but the thought that Touhou characters would see Matthius as a viable romantic interest (at least at this point) is laughable.

**19-** “Hey, isn’t this that one line from that one Star Wars movie?”

**20-** Old.  


* * *

  
**True Word Count:** 3500~   
**Total Word Count:** 4450~   
**Date of Upload:** 5th of February (5/2/2021)


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